Gunilla Lindberg tells ATR that work is progressing well on the new ANOC headquarters in Lausanne.
Following a multimillion-dollar renovation, the new offices are scheduled to be ready in the last week of June.
The ANOC secretary general said the inauguration is planned for July 6, when a council meeting is scheduled. The IOC Executive Board meets in the Olympic capital July 7-9, with the main business being the selection of candidate cites for the 2022 Olympics.
The Swedish IOC member told ATR that preparations were running smoothly for the ANOC general assembly in Bangkok in November.
She said the late switch from Chiang Mai, Thailand’s second city, to the capital had "not been a big issue".
"Bangkok has a fantastic new conference center," she said.
Lindberg will travel to Bangkok for meetings with local organizers at the end of May.
Baku Locks Up F1 for European Games Encore
Formula One racing is headed to Azerbaijan for the first time following next year’s European Games.
The country’s Youth and Sports Ministry announced on Thursday that Baku will host an event next fall.
A spokeswoman told the Associated Press that "the final signing [of contracts] will be at the end of May."
The city has hosted street racing on a closed course in the city center for the last two years, though the spokeswoman declined to say whether the F1 event would take place in the same location.
Azerbaijan would become the second country to host an F1 race shortly after hosting a major multi-sport event. The inaugural Russian Grand Prix is set to take place in Sochi, home of this year’s Winter Olympics, in October.
The 2014 F1 schedule features 19 races with more proposed for next season. The circuit staged a record 20 races in 2012.
U.S. Speedskating Not Blaming Uniforms
A performance review of the United States speedskating team revealed the controversial Under Armour unisuits were not the cause of the team's lack of success.
The review cited "too much travel, too much training at high altitude, overly optimistic expectations and not enough time in the new suits," according to USA Today.
"What we missed is that the athletes have to be comfortable in and with [the uniforms]," Ted Morris, U.S. Speedskating's executive director, said.
U.S. Speedskating withheld information about the new technology before releasing the suits to athletes, which led to the athletes not being able to utilize the advancements completely, according to the federation.
"By introducing these things so late in the game, our athletes were not necessarily comfortable with them, and it was our mistake for not recognizing that."
The United States team traveled and trained in Salt Lake City, Utah; Japan; and finally Collalbo, Italy for their final training camp. At Collalbo, they trained outdoors and at altitude, while in Sochi the athletes compete indoors at sea level. The federation will use the report to better prepare for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
"The process is to identify not only what we didn't do right, but to ensure it doesn't happen again."
Written by Mark Bisson, Nick Devlin, and Aaron Bauer
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